Tuesday & a Haiku

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I've been staying away from the computer a bit and catching up on my sleep.

I've had some excellent swims since the race. My stroke count per 25 metres seems to have dropped from 25-27 to 21-22! Not sure how that happened. And I've done some 25 metre laps in 25 seconds and 50 metres in 60 seconds. I know this is still slow, but considering were I was, it's a big speed gain. :)

As for the run, I've only done a few short ones this week. I am doing some weight training to try and balance out my body, especially to protect my knee.

Please forgive me, but with all of this time spent thinking in and about water , I've included the below:

*********************
The water sleeps still
Awakening at my touch
The propeller's dance
*********************

Leaha

Thanksgiving Weekend

I did not do a lot this past weekend, but I ate enough, lol.

We went for a two hour hike with a bit of sporadic running. I rode my bike on the trainer for a while, just some spinning. Yesterday I ran for about 45 minutes and my knee was killing me, it's the old IT issue. This started last week. So I've been back to physio & ART. I've also started doing some weight training to work on my core, hips, glutes. I'm hoping this helps with stabilizing the knee.

Anyway, I've been daydreaming of the new bike that I'd like to purchase. I need to save my pennies for this one! It's a Look 586. Likely waaaaayyy too much bike for me, but who cares! I'll grow into it. :) Here is a link: http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/look-launches-lighter-586-road-frame-12315

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving weekend. :)

Leaha

I Can Swim :)

Big night for me in the pool last night! Everything came together, finally.

To preface: I've spent a fair amount of time in the canoe, at my family's Ontario cottage. I know exactly the feeling of grabbing the water with the paddles. I've tried applying that thought to my swimming before, with limited success. For some reason, last night it worked. I felt myself grabbing and pulling the water. I was gliding in between strokes. I could feel a huge difference. What solidified it for me most though, was Jill waiting for me at the end of the lane, telling me I had a beautiful stroke!

Hopefully I can maintain the change. I'm very excited by the prospect of improvement in my swimming.

Leaha the tadpole

Swim & Run

I got back in the pool today. It felt fantastic to be swimming again. Nothing too serious, just some freestyle and kicking followed by a bit of core work. I ran after, not too long but I picked up some speed. It felt great. I just feel a bit of fatigue, but much better than last week. I'm thinking it may be time to hop back on my bike. :)

More later,

Leaha

Bike & Run

Tonight, Shannon and I decided to take advantage of the nice weather before it's gone. So after work, I took her to Edworthy park. She rode her bike and I ran for about 40 minutes. My ankle is getting much better. :) My energy has returned too. I'm dying to run!

We're going back tomorrow night. Got to get a few more in before the snow falls.

I spoke with Karen tonight. She & her husband are back from Europe. They both completed the Berlin marathon. I can't beleive that she was able to run a marathon only two weeks after Muskoka. Crazy. Anyway, Karen has signed up for Muskoka again and I wish I could too. I'm doing that race again someday. We were also discussing Lake Placid plans for 2009. I'm peeling again but I'll need to find another volunteer job this year. I need four hours to get in the short line to sign up for 2010. I have to do Lake Placid, I learned to swim after watching my first Ironman there.

My head is swimming with possibilities. :)

Leaha

A Trail Run

I ran today for the first time since the race and it was great! Nothing really hurt except for my left ankle, and it was not too bad. My body was very tired though. It feels like it's at the cellular level or something. I don't recall fatigue like this before. I've been going to sleep right after my 8 year old, until recently. :)

My trail running friend, Karen and I ran though a bunch of ravine trails and some paths in Nose Hill Park. We were gone for nearly 2.5 hours. Likely too long for my first run, but it was slow and we took a few walking breaks, especially while climbing those hills! :) I wore my heart rate monitor and tried to keep my HR below 145. I think the average for the run was 126.

Anyway, I'm pretty happy. I did have to ice my ankle though. I think I'll get it checked out this week.

I'm going to get back in the pool this week too. I might wait another week for the bike as the ankle issue happened there, I think.

I'm still kind of glowing about the race. :)

Leaha

One Track Mind :)

A couple of Garmin downloads of the Muskoka 70.3 course (elevation & grade), in case anyone is interested in signing up for this race.